The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is assisting around 1,000 victims of a “scam hub” who were rescued by members of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) in Mabalacat, Pampanga on May 4.
Of the 1,048 rescued individuals, 129 were Filipinos, while the rest were foreign nationals from China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
As the co-chair of the IACAT, the DSWD assisted and provided financial assistance to the individuals.
Sixty Filipinos received P5,000 each from the DSWD’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) program.
The DSWD-Field Office III is continually assessing the remaining Filipino victims.
Meanwhile, the foreign nationals were assisted by the Bureau of Immigration and Department of Foreign Affairs, together with the Department of Health and International Organization for Migration.
The rescued persons are currently staying at the Tahanan ng Inyong Pag-Asa Center, an IACAT shelter and a one-stop shop for rescued trafficked victims.
The others are under the custody of the Philippine National Police-Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) in Camp Crame, Quezon City.